Riverbrian

It was the Cubs segment that bugged me a little... Bowa and Valle had the Cubs picking up the upper end free agents and trading for upper end prospects like Olt. The Twins Pelfrey and Jurrjens... Trading for Gutierrez and Galvis.

Prior to his shoulder problems... His sinker was among the best pitches in baseball... What if his shoulder is much better and his sinker is sinking again. Another point... The Twins have evaluators... Evaluators who are on salary... They might as well go evaluate something.

The only leverage they would have is the interest from other teams. So far... Heres what Im learning... Some on Twins Daily are not interested at all... Topgun is rude... And some are interested... Most seem to think that it wouldn't take much at all to acquire them. My Suggestion of a trade around Perkins is ridiculous and that's ok because i'm capable of ridiculous. I ordered at a drive thru the other day. Paid my money and drove off... Without the food... It's a special day when you have to turn around and drive back to get laughed at by the Wendy's guy. It was maybe the 3rd time I've done that in my life. If it wouldn't take much... I see no reason why we shouldn't give up a little more than the "it wouldnt take much price" and pick up Capuano. He looked sharp in the innings I saw him pitch last year. We could really use the arm for 2013. He'd be #1 on our staff as we stand right now. Age is an issue but its a one year contract with an option. 6M for a decent left hander... I'm surprised that the Dodgers would give that away. I understand the "don't jeopardize the future" thinking and I agree completely. However... We still have a roster for 2013 with names like Mauer, Morneau and Willingham on it. The 2013 ball hasn't been punted yet. And not that Im trying to get rid of Perkins... I'm not...but What about Dee Gordon for Perkins... Am I closer to the ballpark now?

Larry Bowa and Dave Valle... I don't think Bowa wil have any GM offers any time soon.

Pirates are rumored to be talking about the Hammer for Capuano. It's a rumor... But Hanrahan has some value... I would imagine... I really don't know what it would take... That's why I'm asking for opinions... Capuano would be good for 2013 and 2014 with the option. I'd like him in a Twins uniform with Marcum. Nothing about Capuano's numbers say washed up to me. We do need pitchers this year.

Harang doesn't do much for me... But Capuano does... He's been pretty good in my opinion. I guess I must be over valuing a bit... What if Dee Gordon was included?

Are you just trying to start something?

Seth... What do you think would get the job done?

Morosi reported that the Pirates, Mariners, Twins, Blue Jays and Indians have checked in with the Dodgers on Capuano and Harang. My assumption is The Dodgers have to be asking for Perkins. Any thought of offering some scrubs would be pointless to get the trade completed with the Pirates rumored to be offering Hanrahan. The Dodgers lack a talented lefty in the pen which brings us back to Perkins. Would you do it? Is Perkins enough for both? Is Perkins too much for both? Do pieces have to be added to make a deal work? On wich side should the extra pieces come from? What say you all?

lol... It was just for example purposes... we do have other restaurants in North Dakota... Like... Buffalo Wild wings... Arby's... Hardees... Texas Roadhouse... McDonalds... Burger King... Ruby Tuesday... IHOP... Perkins... Subway... Quizno's and a Truck stop.

I used the Term hindsight and I'll stand by it. It doesn't apply to everyone in all cases but it does apply often enough to be valid. I was using my thoughts with my application of the word hindsight as it applies to me. In hindsight,,, I still think I was right On the Gomez Trade and obviously wrong with my lack of concern over the Hardy to Baltimore trade but I'm not going to use my thoughts at the time in hindsight to vilify or praise the decision makers. Every GM has made a bad trade or bad signing. I don't expect perfection because I've never met anyone who is perfect. To clarify... I'm not going to throw Bill Smith into the fire for a single trade... I will throw Bill Smith into the fire for the totality of what happened to my Twins during his tenure. The lack of harvest we are reaping now and he was the final say... The King of the filter... Ultimately... The blame truly rests at Pohlads feet. Because the owner hires the people who hire the people and bringing Terry Ryan back is an attempt to correct that mistake in my opinion. There are a lot of people employed in the Twins front office... They are not just cardboard cutouts... They are employed for a reason. I don't know who supports each decision and I don't who is in opposition of each decision... but Im pretty sure... Much like Twins Daily... Very rarely would the entire front office agree 100 percent... 100 percent of the time. Things just don't happen that easy in life. I can't get my wife to agree with me that the Ground Round would be a great place to eat tonight when she wants to go to Applebee's. There are times when John Bonnes and Seth Stohs disagree or Nick or Parker or Brock... At least I think so... All want the team to get better and looking at how things turned out in hindsight isn't worth much because if John was right this time.. He may be wrong the next time. The bottom line is that we are in last place... Things went wrong... Bill Smith was removed as GM in an organization that hadnt done a lot of removing period. It appears from the outside that Bill Smith has been held responsoble... Now it has to be cleaned up and fixed. Gardy was the manager during this period so I'm pretty sure that he was a big part of this downturn. Either by making bad suggestions or by lacking the salesmanship to sell Bill Smith and others in the room on the right direction... the GM filter got clogged in my opinion.. I don't know how or why but it did and Gardy can't totally escape blame because Im pretty sure he was in the room. It would be strange if he wasn't. Yet I still think Gardy and Ryan have been good together... In hindsight... I may be wrong.

Myself... I was pissed that we gave up Gomez for Hardy and I still am today to a certain degree... I felt that Gomez was up with the big club too early. Gomez has all the tools to be a superstar... He just needed his head to catch up. That was my feeling at the time. He hasn't gone nuts yet but I still think he can. Last year... He started to show it a little. Let's see what he does this year. At the time of the Hardy trade to Baltimore... I was hopeful that the pitchers we got back were worth something and also hopeful that this Nishioka guy was gonna be as advertised. In hindsight... Neither the pitchers or Nishioka were close to MLB capable and it ended up being a huge mistake. In the end... I think it has been two wrongs making it all wronger. As a pure guess... I think Gardenhire has huge influence on the roster. Gomez... Hardy... all of them... He's the Manager and he works with the players everyday. What a ****ty job if you are not consulted at all when it comes to shaping the roster you are supposed to manage. There are probably times when Gardy disagrees with moves and times when Gardy was the spark that lit the fire. I'm sure Gardy is allowed in the meetings and his wishes considered. A Manager (in my imagination) is just another part of the filtering process or another tool (not meant as the negative version of tool) that the GM has in front of him. I think it's entirely possible that when Terry Ryan stepped down. Mr. Smith tried to serve Gardy more than Terry Ryan did or would and the team lost some balance in the decision making process. That's just a guess... I'm under the impression rightly or wrongly that the combination of Terry Ryan and Ron Gardenhire was pretty good and the combination of Bill Smith and Ron Gardenhire was not. Anyway, we all mistakes and in the end you gotta try something to get better and sometimes it doesn't work out... Hindsight is an unfair advantage to those who judge. In the End... The Teams performance will determine if they are getting the job done. It's my opinion that it's too soon to hang TR since he has come back because the organization is a really big boat and turning it around on a dime is impossible... Also in my opinion Gardy is coming close to the time where replacing him is a consideration but his success prior should not be overlooked because I do believe that Gardy had a role in where we were and where we are.

lol... There are many on Twins Daily that do... A "Tabloid" club could easily form and take on the "Apologist" club. It could be Republican vs. Democrat and the dirty tricks, backroom deals and filibusters could rule the day. Jeez... That... Really ain't that far off.

I don't think Terry Ryan is the guy you send forward to face the public... If you are trying to fire up your fan base. Terry would be matter of fact straight forward as he told you about winning the lottery or the birth of his children. If you want to rev up your fan base... I don't know if the Twins have that guy. TC Bear or the Fox North Girls maybe.

I would imagine that buyers remorse and dealing with it would be a major part of a GM's job. Just like... "we... us..." regular citizens go thru when we a buy a car. You can second guess yourself for awhile. Did I get the right one??? Did I pay too much??? If I waited longer could I have gotten a better deal??? I don't think the kind of buyers remorse that I am referring to... Is what you or the OP means buy "regrets" or "regrets already". "Having regrets already" in the context presented is kinda trashy.

Is there a Gardy Apologist Club or something? Get Togethers... Meetings... Membership Dues... If so... Why haven't I been invited or asked to contribute?

the National Enquirer editors would read the article... The thesis from the OP... And then look at the title of the thread... And then say... "c'mon... Really??? That title will blow your credibility... That's a bt of a stretch... Regrets??? Ryan being abducted by Aliens is less of a stretch. Take the Aliens route for a title of this thread".

Because he's honest... There is no guarantee... No guarantee that Hamilton will improve the Angels either. I'd be jumping on TR if he was saying that Correia was guaranteed to strengthen the group... On second thought... I'd probably be on here defending him by saying I love the confidence or the way he is standing behind his players or something. I know who I am... Seriously... Ryan has always been a straight shooter... I do appreciate that.

They have Vernon Wells which would be a tough contract to remove. Bourjos is worth a phone call for his defense and speed alone. You just don't want of overpay for him with Hicks and Arcia knocking at the door.

oops sorry... My bad... Man I would love that trade... Olt to Third... Plouffe to 2B... Id even throw in Dozier to get the deal done. Could you imagine Olt at 3B and Sano at 1B down the line... Not to mention Rosario at 2B... If that trade doesn't work... I wonder if going after pitching like Perez doesn't make sense as well. lol... Go UND!!!

Me 2... I'd go 6/90 just to bring him and hopefully have him around when Meyer and Mays arrive.

How long have you two been a married couple? (I now duck behind something).

I'd be more inclined to go after Perez... even if Olt is considered the better prospect.

I also want to add for no necessary reason at all... Dempster and Youkilis both bother me. It would seriously drive me nuts to watch the Youkilis batting stance every night with the Twins. It would also bother me to watch Dempster and that Glove Flip thing every 5 days. I'm sorry... I'm just thinking of the kids watching at home... Ttrying to copy that ****. It just ain't good for them.

I completely agree... If Marcum and Jackson are off the board... Then Yes to Dempster because he is the best option left. But If I'm overpaying... and I do think we should (have to) overpay over what is comfortable... I'm overpaying for Marcum or Jackson. At this point... The length of the deal or dollar amount doesn't even matter to me. We got some cash to spend and we need someone to move into our #1 Slot (even if that pitcher isn't a #1) to push everyone else down one slot. It's not spending to spend because money is the answer... It's not... It's spending to bring in a much needed arm. The alternative is trading Willingham plus someone like Kepler to get someone like Marcum or Jackson... or ... Inking more pitchers like Correia (which we should also do). Honestly... This is kind of my Terry Ryan test for the off season... One Arm out of the Top Group. Just one. The Trades were nice... Correia didn't impress or bother me... I'm still holding out hope that TR can go over the sensible number with one of the top group guys. AND land him!!!